B l o s s o m i n g S h a d o w
by Coralynn
Summary: Avery is a young girl dressed as a boy going to the school for the privileged. Throw in her possibly illegal job, insane landlord, and tendency to become completely invisible in a room full of people, and welcome to the world of a Blossoming Shadow.
1. Chapter 1

**ßl****ღ****ss****ღ****min****פ****§had****ღ****ω - Ouran High School Host Club**

_First story! ;D Rate and/or message me. I hope you like it. Constructive critisism, ideas, and such are welcome. It might start out as a bit half-assed, but I swear it will get better as I get the hang of things. The spacing is a bit odd, but I hope that's okay.(: Rating will be subject to change later in the story and I do not own anything but Avery Tekai. Enjoy~_

**Chapter 1;**

_A Sudden and Foreshadowing Encounter_

Avery yawned and flung her backpack over her shoulder. The more correct term would have been _his _shoulder, as Avery was posing as a boy. Her reasons were inconsequential, but then again, so were her actions. _He _rubbed the back of his head carelessly. His raven hair ruffled in a manner that many girls would consider _kawaii_. Making his way up the steps, the sight of Avery caught the stares of many individuals of the student body. His outfit was what attracted their attention first. A green, striped shirt covered his long black hoodie that fitted loosely on his lithe body. His torn jeans were worn tightly to a point where any stares going down to his pants were discreetly directed to his butt. After a period of embarrassment and blushing, any who gulped it down and found the courage to look at his face found their gazes caught by the boy's icy blue eyes cutting through them. His careless glance grazed into their souls. He was intimidating, but attractive for certain. He pressed on, taking little to no notice at the looks directed toward him.  
Attending the school for the last few months, Avery figured the student body would at least have gotten used to his entrance. There was truly no point as they would have forgotten by the time the first bell rang for class. He sat in the very back corner of every class, unseen and unnoticed. They stared at him when he first arrives, wondering who the new kid was. Then they soon forget and get on with their rich, frivolous lives, only to start the cycle again the next morning. He gave an irritated sigh and ran his fingers through his short hair again. _Damned rich people._ He gazed up at the ceiling and whistled a light tune to himself. It never ceased to astound him, the idiocy of those who would soon run most of the world's most prestigious and powerful businesses. He slung the backpack over his shoulder and closed his eyes. His face turned to the dark, cloudy sky and a small satisfied smile crept to his lips. His feet moved to the hallways in the direction of the courtyard. **Crash!  
**Avery groaned in pain simultaneously with the body on top of him. A flurry of books and papers were scattered everywhere around him. His eyes fluttered open slowly to a pair of chocolate brown ones. Avery blinked and took a moment for his mind to recollect the name of the face they belonged to.  
"Oh! Hello, Haruhi-chan," he laughed sheepishly before moaning and clutching the back of his head.  
Haruhi shook her head, a slight smile coming to her lips.  
"Daydreaming again, Avery-chan?" she asked pointedly.  
He smiled at his old friend and waved his hand in a 'no, no' gesture.  
"I was merely feeling gratitude to the agreeable weather today."  
Haruhi chuckled. Avery would always be the same. Even after the three years she's known the boy, his attitude had never changed. Of course, Haruhi knew Avery was really a girl at birth, but it never mattered to her when her friend hacked of his long tresses and took on a more boyish look. He had always been full of surprises and Haruhi expected them, though was not always ready when they came.  
Avery crawled on the floor, gathering the fallen objects on his hands and knees. Haruhi smiled and got down to help him. Suddenly, two pairs of arms wrapped themselves around both of hers and a pair of similar red heads came into view. They pulled her up and looked down at the spaced out teen on the floor still gathering papers. The twins glared and looked at Haruhi.  
They spoke simultaneously. "You shouldn't associate yourself with lowly commoners now that you're one of us."  
An anger vein popped out of both Avery and Haruhi's heads. The once spaced out teen had snapped out of his daze in time to hear their words. His sharp gaze rose up to meet their glares, causing the two to flinch. He stood slowly, menacingly and made his way to them. A small smirk grazed his lips. His arms quickly pried the twins from Haruhi and encircled the girl's thin waist over her blue blazer. Standing at barely an inch taller than Haruhi, Avery rested his head on her shoulder and smiled smugly at the two.  
"Lowly commoner?" He nuzzled her neck and she refrained from rolling her eyes at his antics. In her mind, she was laughing slightly at the twins' faces and went along with her friend's games.  
"I happen to be dear Haruhi-chan's _boyfriend_," he continued, emphasizing the word '_boyfriend_' triumphantly. Avery flashed them a stunning smile before planting a kiss _very_ close to Haruhi's lips and walking away from the two stunned, furious boys and the sweat dropping girl about to be dragged off and assaulted with a barrage of accusing questions.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2;**

_A Hint of Avery and a Dash of the Host Club_

The long red hair slunk down her back as she danced; even its glinting luster in the dim lights shined seductively. Her hips moved in fluid motions with grace as she danced. Men gawked at her masked face and scantily-clad body. The drunker ones hooted and threw money at her feet. The girl's clothes were smoothly shed as she slid down the silver pole and shook her rear. The men watching her took big gulps of alcohol simultaneously. Her red lips were forming a small smirk, taking a slight sick sort of pride in the attention and feeling powerful in her body on the shameless stage. She straightened against the pole and the gazes were directed at her expanse of legs and high heels. The club lights danced around her as she continued her work. She was a predator in the room, reeking of lust and sex appeal. The weak, mindless men with their full wallets were merely prey to her seductive vices that would soon empty the cash from their pockets.

* * *

The raven-haired boy sighed and propped his head up with his elbows on the desk and his chin in his palms. His entire being radiated weariness from a late night's work. Frankly, he was absurdly _bored_. Avery let out another mildly agitated sigh and scanned his eyes over the class. Not a single person who had gawked at him the previous and earlier mornings paid attention to the boy in the back of the room. He had become invisible once the school bell rang loudly. He laid the side of his head in his palm as he turned to look at Haruhi. She was actually paying attention in this class, scribbling away notes on her paper. Avery smirked and twirled his brother's black hat on her index finger. He put it on, knowing he looked just like his brother with it. He was just slighty shorter with rounder features. The boy looked over at the studious Haruhi and his smirk grew. He leaned over and brought his lips close to her ear. _**"Boo."**_ Avery pouted when the girl didn't even flinch. She seemed used to the interruptions now. He took off his cap momentarily to run a frustrated hand through the short hair, a trait he had inherited from the owner of the cap. Avery turned to his other side and glared at the whispering twins. They were no doubt gossiping. His eyes narrowed. _It was all __their__ fault_.

Right on the dot, the twins _were_ gossiping. What Avery failed to realize was that the subject was about him._"We must tell Tono immediately.""Yes. This one could be a threat to our dear Haruhi," _Hikaru stole a glance at the boy sitting beside Kaoru. His first intention was to glare, but the boy's already narrowing eyes cut through him. Hikaru's eyes widened before he turned and glared down at the desk, mumbling.

_"Who does he think he is?" _he whispered harshly to his twin._"He could take her away from us, Hikaru."_At this Hikaru's head shot up and his eyes widened more as he turned to look at his brother. His mind was thrown into panic as crazy outcomes started to formulate in his head. They all ended with Haruhi being ripped from his grasp. Hikaru stood abruptly, his chair falling back and his finger pointed in the air in a very 'Tamaki-like' posture."We must formulate a plan immediately!"Kaoru stood up and followed his brother's actions, agreeing had looked up and sweat-dropped as she stared. The twins were spending way too much time with a certain scatterbrained blond.

Avery;  
I looked up at the insane twins beside me. God, what did they think they were _doing_? In a classroom, no less. My eyes rolled almost involuntarily and I stood, grabbing my blazer and throwing it over my shoulder. I sauntered out of the room coolly with my free hand in my pocket just as the bell rang and the rest of the love-struck students gathered their senses and looked away from the two identical boys. I brought my hand out and yawned a bit before feeling two pairs of hands grab my arms."What the hell?" I struggled in the firm grips and peered around to find two smirking redheads, though their eyes weren't too happy. "Let me go, assholes!" A string of curses left my mouth as I kicked and pulled. "Oh, my Kaoru. Someone has a sailor's mouth.""Commoners. They have no class."I growled fiercely and kicked back, managing to hit one of them where the sun don't shine. I heard a grunt and a thud as he fell to the ground in pain, clutching his family jewels. Before I could react, the other one had both my arms stuck to me by a separate set wrapping over my chest into a tight lock. The one on the floor recovered quickly and grabbed my legs. I hissed and gave up as they dragged me to some stupid destination. The Host Club.

Kaoru;  
He was clever, I had to admit, and determined. I winced, glaring at the back of his head in rage as Hikaru fell.

I winced, glaring at the back of his head in rage as Hikaru fell. My instincts were to run to him to see if he was alright, but I knew this mission was important to him so I wrapped my arms around the boy before he could do the same to me. He was thin. He almost felt fragile. I was shocked and my grip refrained from becoming crushing as I previously intended. He felt kind of nice in my arms... _What the hell?_ I shook the obviously gay thought from my head and my glare intensified as my brother tackled his legs. My brother and I might act gay, but that was all it was: merely _acting_. I heard his protesting hiss before he apparently decided to give up. We picked him up and carried him to the host club. Tono would love to see this urchin and hear about how he treated our little toy. I knew Haruhi was no mere toy to Hikaru, and I was starting to have feelings for her myself, but Hikaru was too clueless to his own emotions and I knew for a fact that his feelings were stronger than my own. It was silent the whole time except for the randomly muttered curses and nonsense the captive was spewing heatedly. He was surprisingly light, or Hikaru was taking most of the weight. For some reason, it got quiet halfway through the trip. I shrugged it off and Hikaru opened the large wooden doors. Somehow, as if they knew it was us, there were no rose petals flying and we were greeted by a blond yapping about us being late and a familiar glint of glasses that stood beside him, staring at us critically. My brother dropped the boy's legs and they hit the ground hard as he saluted the Tono. I didn't like the smirk on his face as I gently laid his top half on the ground and looked down, astonished to find a peaceful, sleeping face that mumbled a few words before shifting. I stood up and saluted Tono quickly, though my gaze was kept on the slumbering face below me."Why are you late, devil twins? Are you up to something with my darling daughter?" He threw his arms out theatrically to cling to Kyoya. "Mommy~! The little devils are planning to do something horrible and corrupt poor Haruhi!"The twins looked at each other with bored expressions and shrugged. "Eh.. No, Tono. We brought something." They gestured to the still body on the ground that Tamaki was still unaware of. Kaoru noticed his brother's tone was slightly started to freak out, his face turning ghastly before he spazzed out throwing his arms in the air in every which direction."You've killed someone! I always knew you were devils! Fix this right away before the princesses come!"They wondered offhandedly how Suoh could possibly expect them to "fix" a dead person. They shrugged their shoulders simultaneously and leaned in to whisper in Tamaki's ears."WHAT? Who is this delinquent that is fooling with my daughter?"Tamaki glared down at the sleeping figure that began to stir... And the Host Club's eyes and mouths, with the exception of Mori and Kyoya of course, and Haruhi who was not present as she was changing, widened and gasped as innocent blue eyes opened slowly.

Avery;  
I shivered uncomfortably as I felt the weight of gazes directed at me.

Didn't they see I was trying to take a frecking nap? I used my elbow to prop me up from my hard resting spot and blinked blearily at arguing voices. My blue eyes were still half asleep as I tilted my head and said through a small yawn in a soft confused voice, "What's going on?" I rubbed my eye sleepily with the back of my hand and closed both of them as I leaned back on a wall of cloth comfortably. Wait... _cloth_? My eyes trailed up the wall to a blue expanse and finally a face with a frame of glasses and neatly groomed black hair. I blinked again and waggled my fingers at the tall figure. I sat up and glanced around. "Where am I?" I glanced around from shocked face to shocked face before being knocked onto the ground by a certain 'prince' screaming 'Kawaii!' _Eh?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3;**

_(Not So) Shocking Turn of Events_

"Welcome," Avery chorused with the rest of the Host Club. He was positioned at the foot Tamaki's chair. A large bead of sweat had formed on the back of his head. How did he get himself into this?

::Flashback::

_Eh?_

_She found herself attacked, engulfed in the arms of a strange blond man. Her face was shoved rudely into a hard chest. Avery's face was amusing to say the least, if anyone could have seen it frozen with shock. A heated red climbed up starting from her neck and reached her hairline. Her fist came up and impacted on the blonde's head, effectively smashing it into the spotless marble floor._

"_WHAT THE FUCKING HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" she seethed._

_She had come to her feet, her pose threatening and her aura dangerous. Tamaki glanced up. A pathetic sort of squeak came out his mouth and he shriveled up into dust. Watching him cower, Avery felt a rush of guilt. She wasn't a morning person, obviously made clear by the ever-growing amount of broken alarm clocks with their own closet in her apartment, but no person deserved to feel her wrath when she was awoken. The cross-dresser sighed and knelt down beside Tamaki, blue eyes boring down into the marble. She fiddled with her thumbs and mumbled quietly._

"_What was that?" one of the twins whispered to his brother, audibly wondering what she was saying._

_Avery frowned and cleared her throat._

"_Sempai, I'm sorry for hitting you. It was wrong of me and I- I _apologize_," she managed out. The word '_apologize_' sounded nearly painful. It was hard for her to get it out there. Her usually cold eyes were sheepish and a bit of a shy smile spread across her face. Her head tilted to the side and her hand rubbed the back of her head. White lilies moved, scattered across the background and a golden light bathed her form. Avery blinked, but shrugged it off. She continued._

"_W-Will you forgive me? I'd do anything."_

_It was a big hit on her pride, but Avery was the kind of person who had high priorities when it came to admitting she made a mistake. Adding the last bit was a way for her to show her sincerity. Little did she know, she just made a huge one in correcting herself. Haruhi just sighed and shook her head. She knew Kyoya would jump at this chance. Avery, on the other hand, was calculating them behind the innocent eyes. These were the people that held her dear Haruhi captive. Surprisingly, they weren't as bad as Ranka described. Well, it shouldn't have been so surprising seeing how Ranka tended to be a bit… dramatic. But she did have to keep a promise to Fujioka's father to free her from the dreaded clutches of these boys. She was working it out in her head behind those beautiful blue eyes. The twins, Tamaki, and Hunny just stared at the girl, the sudden transformation from an enraged demon from Hell to a sweet pleading angel shocking them speechless. Even Mori's eyes widened a fraction of a centimeter. Avery bit her bottom lip and looked down, nodding slowly. Her cuteness factor heightened. She took the silence as rejection. The girl stood and bowed low._

"_I'm sorry for bothering you and for the scratch on your face."_

"_Eh?"_

_Tamaki snapped out of it and fumbled for a mirror. He stared at his reflection in horror. For all the damage it should have caused, he had gotten away with just a slight scratch on his cheek._

"_My face! My beautiful face! My charming good looks! No princess would take a beast such as me now!" he wailed in despair._

_Despite herself, an amused sort of look crossed her face. A mischievous glint in her eyes was the only indication. Haruhi braced herself at the sight of that familiar spark. She watched as Avery laid a gentle hand on Tamaki's, the one holding the mirror, and brought it down to his side. Avery laid her fingers under his chin and tilted his head so she could see more clearly. She brought her lips to the cut and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. She didn't need to stand on the tips of her toes, but she still had to stretch up a bit to reach the tall man's face. Her smirk was evident when she pulled away and bowed. It was silent in the room. Haruhi herself couldn't have predicted that. Her chest tightened at the sight. Haruhi frowned and clutched at it. What was this feeling? Avery grabbed her cap and crossed her arm over her body, bending over at the waist to bow to the hosts._

"_I bid you adieu, sweet prince," her voice mocking yet jovial. She winked and set her cap on her head, turning towards the door and making her way out. The twins looked at each other. This person was an actual gay? They had always acted, but it was all merely acting! Did that mean he would cheat on Haruhi with other boys? Before Avery could escape, a cold voice spoke up, a strong and firm grip capturing her arm._

"_Wait just a second there. Maybe there is something you can do."_

_Avery turned to face the menacing glint of glasses and cold onyx eyes boring into her soul. She shivered and smiled nervously at the Shadow King._

_She gulped and nervously inquired, "Y-Yes?"_

"_I do believe a payment is in order."_

::Flashback End::

Avery huffed in frustration and glared at the smug back that placed him into this mess. He poured the instant coffee for the guests and ramen for Tamaki. In addition to being a host, he was the new errand boy, more like Tamaki's slave first. They had yet to determine a specific type for him. It had just been a little scratch and now he had to host for this stupid club so false king's income "wouldn't be affected" by the _damage_ he _caused_? Avery growled and slammed his fist down on the table. They let him off from hosting for the day because he didn't have a determined type yet so he was stuck with the grunt work. Avery frowned as the coffee overflowed. He fell to his knees and threw his hands up in the air, silently wailing to the heavens. Kyoya Ootori, I will get you for this!


End file.
